Hushabye Mountain: The Beginning
by HistoryLights
Summary: Every once and a while, something happens that shakes up our entire world view, whether it's a person or an event. Suddenly, the familiar settings and life we once knew is gone in a twirling storm. It might happen once or even multiple times over the course of our existence but each time it does, we are forced to question who we are and what we believe.


"_**It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." -J.R.R Tolkien**_

Episode One

Cold, grey, dreary. Another brilliant winter day in small town America. If this weather kept up, I was going to start losing track of the days… again…

My day started out like every other one had since I'd come here. I woke up after hitting the snooze button on my phone three times; pulled on whatever clothes didn't smell like death and smoke and left for school as my foster called an absentminded "Have a nice day Frisk," while screeching to someone on her cell.

School was the same as it ever was, no matter what place I was in. It all felt the same. Sure the faces of the teachers and the other students changed shape but the personalities rarely did. The same cliques existed and the same bullies terrorized the halls. I listened to the same steady calls of "Frisk Johnson" during roll call. The teacher were all trying their best with the sub-par equipment they were given and their own steadily declining faith in the American educational system.

By the time the lunch bell rang, I think we were all relieved to have a break from the monotonous day. As we flooded into the dated hallways and out of the faded metal doors, we were all looking forward to something exciting happening for a change. Not that anything would. Not in the small town of Ebbot anyway.

The high school reflected the state of the town. At a population of just over 9,000, with most of the residents being retirees and elderly folks, it was amazing that they even had enough children to fill an elementary, middle, and high school, instead of all of the kids being crammed into a single building like some of the neighboring townships.

Even still, the school wasn't very large or fancy and the class sizes weren't ridiculous. There was only one floor and each class was able to stay relatively in their own small sections of the building. In fact, my sophomore class was clocking in at just under 70 students. The freshmen and junior classes each had about 100, I think and the seniors had the least amount at around only 50 or so. It was a far cry from the giant two story school I'd attended last year when I lived in Chicago.

I sighed as I trotted behind the only two people who would give me the time of day with my bag slung over my shoulder. Cassandra, Cassie Myers was the daughter of the one of the small business owners in the town square. She was around my height with long blonde hair that she mostly kept pulled back into a pony tail. She was super curvy and dessed in what she referred to as "Punk Chic" with dark clothing and makeup. She had a slightly chubby baby face and bright blue eyes. I once asked her why she didn't just dye her hair to match but she huffed and said that she wasn't going to damage her hair just to be a shit to her overbearing parents. Well alright then. Defeated the point of rebelling in my opinion but I hadn't had actual parents since I was 12 so what did I know?

Her mother had started a small general store that was modeled after an old Five and Dime place from the 70's, except that it sold a bunch of modern day trinkets and sodas and stuff. Cassie said that it was a huge hub for town gossip and that her parents knew practically everything about everyone in the town. She was all about being a rebel and went out of her way to do things that she knew her parents wouldn't like and fraternizing with the local misfits seemed to be her newest hobby.

On the contrast, there was Lucas McMillan, my fellow foster. He was in a different house of course, he often joked that he'd drawn the short straw in the family of the month lotto since he had three other foster siblings. I had gotten "lucky" enough to be the only kid Joanna decided to take in.

Luke had just transferred in for the spring semester. He'd been in the system way longer than I had and it showed since he was douche most of the time. He was shorter than both Cassie and I but he made up for it by being as obnoxious as possible. He had dark brown hair that he kept spiked up with what I assumed was a massive amount of hair gel. His dark eyes were shadowed like he hadn't had a decent night sleep in his whole life. And he extremely skinny, not because he didn't eat, I'd seen him eat and it was like watching something out of a horror movie. I figured he was so stick thin because he was a smoker. I'd watched him go through two packs a day. And that was while we were at school. How he hadn't been caught was a mystery to me. Then again, it wasn't like the faculty was the most observant bunch.

It was only by happenstance that he and I even crossed paths to begin with. I wanted him to know that he wasn't alone in this awful world but so far it didn't seem like he wanted anything to do with me. Well, at least until he started hanging out with Cassie and I at lunch, so maybe he did appreciate it. Just a little bit

I mean, I wasn't really out to gain friends or anything. There'd be no point and I'd long given up on making any real connections with people. I probably wouldn't be here long enough to have any kind of meaningful relationship so why bother? Sure it was lonely but in a way, wasn't everyone lonely in some way? Maybe that was why I accepted Cassie and Luke. I mean, we weren't friends or anything, but if spending an hour with me, eased their own loneliness, then I counted that as a my good deed for the year. They wouldn't miss me when I left.

The thick cloud of smoke floated above our heads as we stood huddled together by the dumpsters behind the school. We usually snuck out here every lunch so that Luke could smoke, today though was one of the many days, I wished he'd give up the habit. It was already just above freezing and the slight mist that was coming from the overcast sky wasn't helping much.

"God dammit, this sucks," sneered Luke, zipping up his green puffy coat all the way to the top to try and combat the breeze. He flicked his finished cigarette butt against the heavy metal containers.

"Luke!" screeched Cassie. She had the unfortunate luck to be standing right next to the spot where Luke still lit butt had hit before falling to join the dozens of others on the gritty broken asphalt below. "Would you watch where you're throwing those things?" Seemingly unbothered, Luke shrugged and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his half empty box of Camels and took one out, then fished his lighter from his other pocket.

"You are really going to smoke another one of those disgusting things?" I commented in disgust. I seriously didn't see the appeal of them. They smelled terrible and I'd be will to bet that they tasted even worse. I kept my own hands snuggly inside the pockets of my dark purple coat, there was no way I was going to risk them out in this frigid air.

"You know you're going to have emphysema by the time you turn thirty right?" I said. Luke rolled his eyes at me, lighting up and taking a long drag. He blew a thick cloud of noxious smoke into the air.

"No one's asking your opinion, Frisk," he snapped. I scrunched my nose up at the foul smell.

"Well, I guess what they say is true," I quipped, irritated that he'd snapped at me. "A cigarette is a bit of tobacco with fire at one end and a moron at the other." Cassie snickered and I couldn't help but smirk when he glared at me.

"Piss the fuck off, Frisk," he retorted. "God damn, you're such a fucking bitch sometimes." he finished off his second cigarette in record time. This time he threw the butt straight down and stamped out the remaining embers with his boot. I couldn't tell if he was being polite or if he was just pissed.

"Aw, Lukey," I crooned. "I never knew you felt that way about me. You're making my weak girlish heart go all aflutter." So what if it didn't make sense? Watching his tanned face go red was worth it. Cassie snorted beside me. "But you that our dear parents will never agree to our union. Our love is forbidden after all. We must pine from afar! Oh woe is me!" I posed dramatically as I said the last part, making sure my face was in an appropriate level of emotional agony. Luke rolled his eyes and shoved his hands back into his pockets. I noted how the freckles on his nose got darker as he blushed harder.

"What the fuck ever," he muttered. I laughed lightly and grinned at him.

"C'mon, you know you love me." I said. Before he could reply, and I could see that it was going to be a good one, a shrill bell sounded from the building. Cassie groaned and rolled her shoulders.

"Why does it seem it feel like these stupid lunch breaks get shorter every day?" Both Luke and I sighed in agreement. We walked out of our hidden alcove, the gritty and cracked pavement crunching underneath our feet.

As we joined the large group of students making the chilly trek back into the school. I felt instantly more warm, even if the building's heating systems were the oldest thing known to Mankind, it was significantly better than being outside.

"Well, guess it back to the afternoon grind," huffed Luke, walking off toward the lockers to grab his bag for his last two classes. I rolled my eyes. The amount of cynicism in this kid really rivaled my own. I guess it was just something that us fosters shared.

"You do know that idiom is supposed to be about a nine-five office job?" Cassie said, following right behind me. We were both heading to history while Luke, unlucky guy, was heading to Algebra. He stuck his tongue out at Cassie and walked away.

Ms. Faust, the history teacher was standing by her open classroom door, greeting students as the walked in. Ms. Faust was probably one of the nicest people that I've ever met. She was old enough to be my grandmother, but there was no denying the fact that she could do battle with the sharpest of tongues. She never wore any kind of make-up and I always found it irritating how beautiful she looked without it.

I asked her once, when I first started, why she chose to teach history in such small school. Ms. Faust had only smiled at me and said that Ebbot was her home and it was her duty to tell its story.

I sighed, slinking into the stupidly uncomfortable desk chair. Seriously, why were these things so hard?

Beside me, I heard Cassie cuss under her breath. I leaned over to see what she had done.

"Forget your pencil?" I whispered. Cassie frowned and gestured pointedly around her desk.

"More like forgot my whole damn bag. I was so distracted by stupid Luke that I completely forgot to go to grab my stuff out of my locker." she griped. Oh right, Cassie liked to put her books and things in her locker before lunch. Something about not wanting to stare at lame ass homework while eating the lame ass food provided by the cafeteria.

I winced in sympathy. "Well I wouldn't worry about it," I said grinning. "I mean you know what they say about history teacher anyway, they have a tendency to Babylon."

"Thanks for that," Cassie said, less than impressed with my pun. She leaned back in her own chair and crossed her arms. I almost replied but I guess Ms Faust deemed the class full enough because she shut the door and walked over to the white board to put up the day's assignment.

So instead of answering her, I sat back in my own plastic chair of death and listened to Ms. Faust calling roll.

Just another glorious day in paradise.

Ep/end


End file.
